THE EPITOME OF SERVICE

At the Victory Banquet held in the Social Hall in Salt Lake City in 1855, Pres. Jedediah M. Grant addressed the Mormon Battalion:

"I see men who have stood in defense of their country under the most heartrending circumstances that human beings could be placed in; men having families and friends to leave on the open prairie; and as our forefathers fought under General Washington and saved the country from being taken by the enemy, so did this Mormon Battalion save a large tract of land from being taken by the enemy, and they saved this people from being pounced upon by the militia of several States; for heartless villains had concocted plans to have all this people murdered while upon the western frontiers. You will all remember that I went to Washington, and I know from what I there learned, that the Hon. Thomas H. Benton advocated the necessity of raising troops and cutting off all the 'Mormons' from the face of the earth. Not withstanding that you had rendered your services, and offered your names to go and serve your country in the war with Mexico, yet, while you were doing this, one of the senators, and one of the principal men in the Senate, too, did endeavor to induce the Senate, the Cabinet, and the House of Representatives, to raise a force sufficiently strong to go against the poor defenseless 'Mormon' women and children who were left upon the wild prairie unprotected. Yes, Mr. Thomas H. Benton wanted to take troops and pounce upon your wives and children when upon the banks of the Missouri River, and sweep them out of existence. And when the case was argued, the question was asked, "Supposing you cut off the men, what shall be done with the women and children?" "O," said Benton, "if you argue the case, and wish to know what shall be done with the women, I say wipe them off, too." "Well, then," was asked, "what shall be done with the children?" "Why," said Benton, "cut them off, men, women, and children, for the earth ought to drink their blood," and the feeling was so strong upon the question that it came within a little of magnetizing the whole nation. What should WE have done if we could not have argued that we had five hundred men upon the plains, engaged in the service of their country, and their wives and children left unprotected? What, I say, would have been the consequence if we had not had this plea? Israel must have been put upon the altar. And if we could not have raised the complement of men, what would have been the fate of this people? Israel must have been put in the tomb, unless by the interference of high heaven a ram had been found in the thicket. Yes, Brethren, had it not been for this Battalion, a horrible massacre would have taken place upon the banks of the Missouri River. Then, I say, not withstanding your hardships and the difficulties you passed through, you rendered service to the people of God that will ever be remembered, and such service as will bring blessings upon your heads in time and in eternity. And if your friends fell by the wayside; and if any of you lost your families, your wives or your children, and you sustain the people of God, you can depend upon a reward for all that you suffered, for you are the sons of God. This is the real relationship of this Battalion to the Lord Almighty." (Tyler, pp.348-349)